Limapontia senestra

Limapontia senestra  (Quatrefages, 1844)

• Actaeonia corrugata Alder & Hancock, 1848
• Actaeonia senestra Quatrefages, 1844
• Cenia cocksi Alder & Hancock, 1848
• Limapontia cornuta Giard, 1873

Description
The slug-like body may reach 6 mm in length, with the body coloured marbled olive-brown to black with paler extremities (the short tail and the head tentacles). It could have a slightly wrinkled dorsum. The head bears a pair of finger-like tentacles, characteristic of L. senestra and absent in other species of Limapontia. Those tentacles may be absent in juvenile specimens (smaller than 2 mm). The anal and renal openings are located in the midline of the body, at about two thirds of the body length from the head.

Biology
It is commonly found feeding on filamentous algae of the genus Cladophora and Acrosiphonia. It may share habitat with Limapontia capitata.

Etymology

• Limapontia, from Greek “Limax”, slug + “pontos”, of the sea.
• Senestra, probably from old French “senestre”, from Latin “sinistra”, means left, perverse, weird, bad, adverse, hostile.

Distribution
From Orkney and Norway down to French Atlantic coast and North of Spain. Widespread around Britain and Ireland.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Limapontia senestra
Sources:
: OBIS : GROC 2010-2011 : Enric Madrenas : João Pedro Silva : Bernard Picton : GBIF.ORG	: OPK : VIMAR : Manuel Ballesteros. : M@re Nostrum : Altres fonts : Marine Regions

Abundance

Western Mediterranean:
Eastern Mediterranean:
Atlantic Ocean:

More pictures

Limapontia senestra by Ian Smith

Limapontia senestra juveniles without head tentacles by Ian Smith

Bibliography

1246567 Limapontia senestra items 1 entomological-society-of-america author asc 1 https://opistobranquis.info/wp-content/plugins/zotpress/
Bibliography based on the works by Steve Long, 2006. Bibliography of Opisthobranchia 1554-2000 and Gary McDonald, 2009. Bibliographia Nudibranchia, with later updates from other resources.

Further reading

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